Sweet Spring Pea
by NinjaLink
Summary: AWL: ...Jack, Muffy and their son attend Nina's Funeral along with everyone else in Forget-Me-Not Village. As everyone grieves, Galen seems to be holding back.


**Harvest Moon: Nina's Funeral**

Rated: E for Everyone [K on Fan fiction]

Genre: Angst

_Spring 28..._

He was wide awake since the peak of dawn. He sat on the edge of his bed, mellowing in his dark home. In his hands was a fragile picture frame with a delicate memento within it. The picture caused his eyes to swell without permission. Carefully, he caressed his thumbs on the borders of the frame. His frown didn't leave his dry lips as he continued to stare at the portrait.

It was quiet, but bright and sunny outside. The air was fresh and crisp for a spring afternoon. He knew that, but refused to accept the day's smile. To him, it didn't make sense for such a great day to shine on this mourning time. It was her funeral, but more importantly, it was his wife's funeral. The only woman he truly saw dedication for, Nina, died just last week and her funeral…came upon her birthday.

It was unfair of her time to be cut short like that; he didn't want to accept it, but he didn't underestimate the fact. He knew it was true, but he didn't want to reveal it. He sighed a breath of stress away from his mouth and laid the picture frame beside him. He collected his hands together and let them hold each other. His utter sadness was disturbed by a quiet knock at the door.

"Galen? Are you in there? It's time to go now, you know that right?" It was Pon, owner of the Monteith Farm that was not far from here (Galen's house). "The door's unlocked, Pon." After Galen finished his words, Pon walked in with the doorknob still in his hand. "Galen, are you okay? Most of everyone is there and everything's set up as well." Pon reported to him softly as Galen gradually stood up on his aching feet.

"I'm just fine." Galen stated while walking towards Pon. He stood in front of the married man. Pon looked down at the elder. "You seemed to be a little more conserved lately, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Pon said as Galen frowned more. "I'm just fine! Let's just go, so I can get this over with!" Galen pushed Pon to the side and exited the dim hut. Pon looked back at the elderly man with a concern expression.

Galen clumsily walked down the stoned road. With his hands behind his back, his chin pointed down. His vision grew droopy from rivers of thoughts flowing rapidly through his mind. From behind, he could hear Pon's footsteps; within each step, it seemed synchronized until Pon ran to his side. The two remained quiet once crossing the lonely bridge. From not afar, Galen looked out to the humble town folks that came for this event.

Vesta, Marlin, and Celia came with a woven basket of ripe vegetables in hand. Griffin, Cody, Rock, and Gustafa were side by side in the back, waiting patiently for the event to begin. In front on them sat Grant, Sam, Tim, Ruby, Flora, Carter, Wally, and Chris on the white lawn chairs while Kate and Hugh threw pebbles into the river behind the four men in the back.

Nami wasn't there; she left two weeks ago before Nina suffered from death. Someday, she may hear the story, but who knows if the red-haired traveler would come back again. Surprisingly, Daryl was there, just not completely visible to be seen. He hid among the several trees; shyly gazing at the female archeologist Flora. Galen wanted to smile from the sight of the kind folks, but his lips wouldn't commit.

He didn't dare glimpse at the huge, round boulder; the boulder wasn't any ordinary boulder, but Nina's tombstone. Its dull silver color truly did stand out from all other objects. There was nothing more unwelcoming than that tombstone…but it was the only proof of Nina's existence in the world. To him at least, it was important to his world.

"Galen," Hardy caught his attention, "I'm sorry for your loss. Will…you forgive me?" Galen shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry, Hardy. It wasn't your fault. We should have all known." Hardy slightly nodded in agreement while approaching the lame man.

As Pon closed in on the depressed party, he was greeted by sounds of heels hitting the ground behind him. "There you are, Pon." He looked over and witnessed his blonde-haired wife and their son, Ryan, in her arms. "Daddy!" Ryan reached his short arms out to his father. Pon smiled and took the boy from Muffy's arms. "Sorry that we're late. Ryan wanted to color some more pictures for Galen."

"Pictures are pretty, Daddy!" Ryan hugged Pon's neck and pulled back to show Pon the pictures. "See Daddy? I made it for Galen!" Pon viewed the scribbled images in front of him. His jaw slightly dropped at the sight of the unique design of Nina and Galen. The details were colored neatly and their happy expressions glistened on the crinkled paper. "That's very good, Ryan. Hey, why don't you go play with Kate and Hugh over there? I'll give these to Galen, okay?"

Pon pointed his index finger at the two children. "No Daddy! I want to give this to grandpa myself!" With a laugh escaping from the rambunctious child, Ryan ran over to Galen without hesitation. Muffy smiled generously at her troublemaker. "Galen! Galen!" Ryan called out. Galen looked over at the tiny child, slightly smiling to greet the boy. "Here! Here! I made it for you!"

Ryan held the pictures up as high as he could. Slowly, Galen leaned down and looked carefully at the images. He patted the boy's head and grabbed the pictures gently. "Thank you, Ryan. They're wonderful." He commented as the young lad jumped up and down with joy. "Welcome, Galen! Where's Nina? I want to show her too!" Galen choked on air at that moment.

"Uh, Nina will see them soon enough, Ryan. Please, get back here!" Muffy demanded as she walked up to her child. The boy turned around to accept his mother's arms. Galen watched the caring mother and son; slightly he was losing integrity by acknowledging the images within their minds. He boy was too young understand the situation, but soon, when he comes of age, he'll know exactly what the purpose was. "But Mommy, where is Nina? I want to show her!" Muffy's lips curled down to a frown while holding her child close.

Pon examined the short scene and then looked at his wife. She stood there with her arms occupied, wearing a black dress and a laced veil covering her face. Her black high heels complimented the mourning episode. "How are you, sweetie? Are you okay?" Muffy asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Galen. He's not himself anymore." Ryan kissed his mother on the cheek without noticing.

Muffy frowned slightly from Pon's concerned words. "It'll be okay, sweetie." She kissed his cheek with the wiggly boy in her arms. "Thanks Muffy. Hey…have you seen Romana and those guys when you were coming here?" She shook her head while letting the boy stand on his feet. "No, I haven't, but they told me they were coming." Pon quietly grunted as he directed his wife to the other folks.

He then walked over to Galen, who was occupied by talking to Hardy. He gently tapped Galen on his shoulder, "Romana, Lumina, and Sebastian aren't here yet, Galen. Are you willing to wait a little longer?" Galen shrugged. "There's no need to rush. We'll be okay." Pon let the words skip by as a blurry view of three people were coming close. "Wait, I think I see them."

Hardy and Galen looked over to Pon's direction of vision. "Yep, that's Sebastian and the girls." Hardy confirmed the recent information. Pon slightly smiled as Galen dozed off into a silent daydream. Not before long, Romana came walking with her cane in one hand and a smile on her face.

"Hello, everyone. Are we late at all?" She asked; Pon shook his head. "No, you're not. You guys made it." Lumina and Sebastian followed from behind her. "Oh, thank goodness then." She looked over to Galen. "I'm sorry, Galen." He shook it off. "It's alright. Are…we ready then?" He asked Hardy and Pon. They both nodded, and took their place beside the tombstone. The folks were in place, and were ready to listen to the monologues from the three.

Pon, Galen, and Hardy faced the crowd with their hands behind their backs. To start off, Hardy stepped forward and cleared his throat. A hesitation of the wind's whisper came first before Hardy. "Thank you all for coming to this occasion," Hardy then began off, "I appreciate it very much on many thanks. I would have never thought to commemorate this day for anyone, but for Galen, my dear friend, I gladly volunteer my support."

Galen smiled at Hardy's kindness and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hardy, let me give my speech first." Hardy grunted under his breath, but smiled and stepped back for Galen. "Alright, Galen." Galen stayed monotone, coughed and pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket's front pocket. "My friends, I'm really glad you've come." He started with those words while unfolding the paper. "I don't want Nina to be impatient, you know?"

From the crowd, short giggles were left in the air. Galen solemnly looked down at the paper and let his voice speak. "I wrote…a poem for Nina not to long ago, but I want to read this to you all. Especially to Nina if you're listening, honey." His words lowered a few heads from the crowd. His hands shook as he cleared his throat and scanned his eyes onto the paper.

From the back, Muffy sat with Ryan next to her. His small stature didn't complete the chair, and instead, he stood on the chair. As his eyes glanced back at his father (who was standing next to Hardy) and his mother, he asked, "Mommy, what's this about? Where's Nina? And why is everyone wearing black?" Muffy strained a tear down her cheek as she looked at her boy. Ryan looked back at his father one more time and his eyes widened. "Mommy, why are you and daddy crying? Do you two have a boo-boo?"

Muffy grabbed her child and set him on her lap. "Yes, mommy and daddy have a boo-boo, but band-aids aren't going to help this one." The child hugged his mother's neck, hoping to comfort her in this time. Muffy looked out to Galen; as for Galen, he finished clearing his throat…and announced his words out loud:

_You're too great of a Wife for Me, Nina_

_The days were old,_

_But not we,_

_Together we were,_

_As young as can be,_

_You filled my mornings,_

_With smiles and hope,_

_You've made me laugh,_

_And helped me cope,_

From the crowd, a few sighs of kindness entered Galen's ears. From the back, he could hear Ryan's squeaking voice ask frightening questions to his mother. Slowly within him, he felt a pressure of stress suddenly build, but he continued:

_Our times were sometimes great,_

_And our times were sometimes rough,_

_But you were always there,_

_That, I can not even bluff,_

_One day I knew this would come,_

_But I didn't believe it would be thee,_

_One day I knew this would come,_

_Dear goddess, I wish it was me,_

His last line of words caused eyes to widen and jaws to slightly drop. Galen's eyes began to swell with sorrow and fear as his hands shook wildly in front of him. He choked a little in his throat and swallowed it. He proceeded:

_I'll never forget you,_

_My sweet Spring Pea,_

_I'll see you soon,_

_So please…_

Literally, he tightened his hands on the paper, causing it to harshly wrinkle and cringe. The villagers then felt the same pressure Galen was feeling and before he knew it…he dropped down to his knees…dropped the paper…and slapped his hands onto his face. Pon and Hardy quickly leaned down beside the man. Their hands rested on Galen's back as Galen lost his breath under a massive fountain of tears.

"Galen?" Hardy asked, but Galen didn't hear him. His eyes cringed in pain of tears. His chest grew heavy with physical and emotional pain. He didn't want to realize the truth nor face it, but he just did. He saw the tragic truth; his wife is died. She wasn't coming back. She was never coming back. Even if some miracle was forced onto Nina, she wouldn't be Nina.

She wouldn't be the Nina that Galen fell in love with. The thought of knowing her body was six feet underneath them caused his stomach to churn. Her kind eyes would never greet him in the morning now. Her soft voice would never speak to him again. With sudden tears and a stuffed throat, Galen's lips escaped the last words of his poem:

_Don't forget me…Nina_

_**~*~*~*~*~**_

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This idea sort of snuck up on me while playing **Harvest Moon DS** (even though it's based on Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life.) Pon was my "Jack from HM: AWL" and as well for Ryan, my son. In the game though (HM DS) when you become friends with Galen, he says, "Nina is too good a wife for me…I'm so lucky to have her…" and that's pretty much how I got the idea. Also, I typed the poem before I wrote the story, so I guess you can say the poem was my inspiration as well. Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have the time, review please.

_Story Typed: December 13, 2008_

_Edited: December 14, 2008 and December 15, 2008_


End file.
